The only noticeable advertisement came in the form of  billboard along the New Jersey Turnpike near Giants Stadium, the location of the Sentinels’ first home game. On that Thursday evening at the end of October, the California Redwoods came into town and kept New York winless by taking a close contest, 20-13. The attendance was light and appeared even more so because of the capacity of the stadium. And it didn’t help matters any that the game was up against the second installment of the World Series in the Bronx.

But with more promotion, football fans who are shut out from Giants or Jets games would probably be more than happy to take advantage of the very affordable $20 tickets the UFL is offering. Couple that with the familiar names that adorn the rosters of the four teams and this thing may be a viable alternative during the week to the NFL.

“We had some guys here, like Simeon Rice, who had some injuries and are just looking to come back to play,” said Sentinels head coach Ted Cotrell, a former defensive coordinator for a number of teams including the New York Jets. “There are a few players like that and there are players coming up that just need a chance. It’s a win-win thing. If they do well, then we do well.”

Sounds like a good plan but for that to come true, the UFL has to get its name out there more. With the three other teams employing head coaches like Dennis Green (California Redwoods), Jim Fassel (Las Vegas Locomotives) and Jim Haslett (Florida Tuskers), instant credibility is brought to the table. Plus they have a television deal with Versus and HDNet, so the coverage is there if the fans choose to tune in.

In any situation where a new product is released, there will be trial and error periods. Such is the case when the Sentinels changed the location of their next home game from Citi Field (the Mets new ballpark in Queens) to Hofstra University on Long Island. A much smaller venue is more appropriate in a town like New York where it is very difficult to catch on when you have to deal with the likes of the Giants and Yankees garnering all of the headlines.

A short eight-week schedule commencing with the UFL championship game on November 27 will wrap up a campaign that the UFL can hopefully build on. They intend on adding teams and games in 2010 but need the capital to do so.

Other football leagues have had a difficult time surviving in what has become an NFL-monopolized sport. The WFL, USFL, AFL, XFL, WLAF and NFL Europe all dot the landscape of failed attempts to at least share a piece of the pigskin pie. Hopefully the UFL can stay off of that list.

Two other teams played in the same venue and took credit for both states. The Knights of the WLAF and Hitmen of the XFL actually called themselves ‘New York/New Jersey’ during their short tenures in their respective leagues.

Even the one team that actually did play here in the New York is gone, maybe forever. The Dragons and the rest of the Arena Football League will sit out the 2009 season with the hope that by the time next year rolls around, the economic state of the league and its fans will be better.

All hope is lost, right? Maybe not, with the creation of the United Football League. The brand new outdoor league that is scheduled to kick off this October with four teams includes one in New York to be coached by former Jets defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell. The big question is where will they play? According to the league’s website, www.ufl-football.com, mentions a few possibilities, some more reasonable than the others. Just for window dressing, the page for the New York franchise states that both Citi Field and the new Yankee Stadium would be “ideal for a UFL team.” Fat chance that either place would ever see a football game, especially one from a league in its maiden season.

Figure on one of the next set of places spoken about to be the eventual location. Laurence Wein Stadium at Columbia University in Manhattan or James M. Shuart Stadium at Hofstra on Long Island both seat less than 20,000, a number attainable from an unknown entity than the 45,000 or 53,000 at the Mets and Yanks new surroundings.

Bringing football back to New York will probably be a good marketing tool, but of the team ends up in either of the other locations listed (Rutgers Stadium, Princeton Stadium or the future home of the MLS Red Bulls in Harrison, New Jersey) then they will have to come up with something different.

The other UFL teams will be in Las Vegas, Orlando and San Francisco and all have former NFL head coaches leading them. Jim Fassel (Giants), Jim Hasslet (Saints, Rams) and Dennis Green (Vikings, Cardinals), respectively, will give the league instant credibility and known names, at least on the sidelines.

Just who will don the uniforms of these four teams remains to be seen. There is no question that there will be a wide pool to choose from with the AFL and NFL Europe no longer an option, but quantity does not exactly mean quality. There has been some speculation that Michael Vick may be destined for the new league if no NFL teams want to touch him once he’s eligible to play again.

During a press conference, UFL Commissioner Michael Huyghue said, “The first UFL game will take place on October 8 at AT&T Park, the home venue of the San Francisco Giants,” which has been the only stadium announced. He further said,” We will commence (that week) for a total of seven weeks which will conclude with our championship game in Las Vegas,” which will take place during Thanksgiving weekend. Huyghue also stated that the cable network VERSUS will broadcast weekly games.

Certain games will also be played in neutral markets such as Los Angeles and Hartford, in all likelihood potential expansion cities for next season.

Will they be successful, especially going head-to-head against the NFL? Most critics have said that any league would be better off playing in the spring, such as the new USFL plans to do in 2010.

But with a chance to finally land a team in New York, are we in any position to be picky?

As far as first impressions go, Rex Ryan did quite well for himself on Wednesday. His first statement actually received applause, something that is not the norm at a press conference introducing a head coach in the NFL.

The former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator commented that he was looking for the new president a day after Barrack Obama’s inauguration because of all the cameras in the room. With a smile, he said, “I think we’ll get to meet him in the next couple of years anyway.” Ryan knows first hand that the Super Bowl champions visit the White House, as he did back in 2000 when Baltimore won Super Bowl XXXV.

Things always look and sound wonderful on a brand new coach’s first day on the job. Even when Rich Kotite was named back in 1995, no one could foresee that he would win only four games in his two years at the helm. So take this with a grain of salt. But Ryan did say a few things that haven’t been heard in these parts since Bill Parcells went away.

“You’re going to see an attack team here,” he said and referenced that they will be aggressive on both sides of the ball and on special teams and that it will be noticeable on their first day on the practice field. “We will have an all weather offense, and that starts with the running game,” he continued.

He also gave a message to the league: “The Jets are coming and we’re going to give you everything we’ve got, and that’s going to be, I think, more than you can handle.”

Just who is going to lead the Jets as the field general remains to be seen. The first question posed to Ryan was about Brett Favre, who will turn 40 in September when the new coach’s rookie season kicks off. The former Green Bay Packer had a rough last five games this past season and may require surgery to repair a torn biceps muscle, that is, if he decides to play another season or finally retire for good.

“I would think anybody would want him as their quarterback,” said Ryan, and reminisced about a game that Favre had against his Ravens back in 2001. Considering that was eight years ago, it really didn’t pertain to the future Hall of Famer’s current abilities, which have been greatly questioned. The Jets hierarchy of owner Woody Johnson and general manager Mike Tannenbaum has made it no secret that they want Favre back. It goes without saying that Ryan had little choice but to side with them if he wanted this job, if he honestly believes Favre is finished or not.

Sounding as if it were wishful thing, Ryan said, “He (Favre) may make that decision for us. We’ll look at it when the time comes.” The best-case scenario would be that Favre retires and lets the Jets know that right away. He has stated that he would let them know in February so they can prepare for the upcoming free agency period and NFL Draft.

The feeling is that taking over a team that had nine wins gives you a good opportunity for fast improvement. “There really doesn’t have to be a drastic change,” Ryan said, but followed that up by saying that there will be drastic changes in the style of play, particularly on defense.

Ryan also spoke of a philosophy that the team will have, which is a take on the K.I.S.S. (Keep it simple, stupid) saying. “Ours is a K.I.L.L. philosophy; we’re going to ‘Keep it likable and learnable.’”

Not what you would expect after hearing the word ‘kill,’ but words are words and actions are actions. And no one ever held the Lombardi Trophy with words.

If you’re going to get fired from your job as a head coach in the NFL, you would rather your holiday season interrupted than getting the false impression that you’ll be around for draft scouting meetings. The main reason for this is that teams look to make decisions within the first two weeks following the regular season and have either signed someone or conducted multiple interviews to narrow down that decision.

That process has already taken place around the league, and even the teams that haven’t announced their new head coach yet due to his current team still playing have had plenty of time to make up their minds. An example of this is the New York Jets, who are rumored to be ready to announce the hiring of Rex Ryan once the Baltimore Ravens’ season concludes.

What makes the Tampa Bay situation even more puzzling is that they hired from within. A day after canning the man playfully known as ‘Chucky,’ the Bucs introduced Raheem Morris as head coach, less than a month after he was promoted to defensive coordinator after serving two years as the defensive back coach under Gruden.

Whatever happened behind closed doors down in Tampa must have been pretty interesting. This decision seems to have been made hastily and possibly pursuant to a disagreement between Gruden and the Buc hierarchy.

According to a report by Adam Schefter, Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has been signed to a four-year, $11.5 million contract by the St. Louis Rams. The NFL Network’s super sleuth has been on the pulse of practically every move in football, so you can take this to the bank.

With ‘Spags’ off the market, the New York Jets will in all likelihood choose Rex Ryan as their next head coach. With Baltimore playing tomorrow in the AFC Championship Game, teams cannot hire an employee of another organization, but the Ravens defensive coordinator met with the Jets for five hours recently. Coupled with the fact that Spagnuolo, another favorite to land the Jets job, is headed to St. Louis, Ryan coming to New York looks to be a given.

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Spagnuolo has been one of the ‘hot’ coordinator candidates and rumored to be in line for a number of jobs last offseason and ever since the regular season concluded last month. After being given accolades for his game plan in Super Bowl XLII, it was merely a matter of time before someone tabbed him as their head man.

Spagnuolo going to the Rams may reveal many things. For one, the obvious is that the Jets informed him they were going in a different direction. If they had made an offer to Spagnuolo and he spurned them for the hapless Rams, then that says volumes of what he thinks of the Jets organization.

Everything will fall into place by next month. If Baltimore defeats Pittsburgh and earns a spot in Tampa Bay on February 1, then the Jets have to show some patience before parading out their new man. That is, unless a new available candidate such as John Gruden fits into their plans.